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Thread: 1st real project complete! (Cherry Bed)

  1. #1

    1st real project complete! (Cherry Bed)

    I just finished my first real hardwood project, my first time to use handplanes, and my first project made from rough lumber. I took all of the wood down from rough lumber to the surface shown here with handplanes only (no sanders or electric planers). I did use some electric saws...

    It is solid cherry 6/4 except the panels in the headboard, which are cherry ply. This took me one solid year, but it was worth it. About 6 months was just buying planes on ebay and learning to sharpen and tune them. (The Hack book is essiential)

    The rails are 7" tall and came from a single board that was 15" wide. This has been an awesome project. Since the rails would not fit through the 6" jointer I bought, I used the oportunity to buy and learn to use handplanes. I really enjoyed this project. Every joint is not perfect, but it is still really pretty.

    FYI - I finished it with BLO & wax. No sanding required, so some planer marks remain. This is the closest finish I could find to prevent hiding any of the surface. It is also the closest finish to woodworking - no brushing or spraying, just alot of elbo greese!

    My thanks to Scott Banbury for selling me the lumber. It all came from local trees he recovered. I think my next project will be a dining table and chairs, anybody know where I can get a chunck of cherry 6/4, 30+ wide, by 6+ feet long?

    Thanks for being a great resource for a newbie!
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Annapolis, MD
    Posts
    267
    Congratulations, Bob! For a "first" project, it looks really sharp. I'm planning to build my 16 month old daughter a bed in cherry, and was thinking along similar lines to what you've built. Of course, first I need to finish the sawbenches (Chris Schwartz' low sawhorses from Woodworking Magazine), lathe stand (hand chopped mortises, woo hoo!), toy chest (dovetailed together... maybe...), and various other shop projects I have on vaarious back burners.
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers --
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Anchorage, AK
    Posts
    507
    Bob,

    Very nice bed! You have a lot of sweat equity in there, prepping all that lumber by hand. Great job I really like the design.

    Jonathan


    "I left Earth three times. I found no place else to go. Please take care of Spaceship Earth." -- Wally Schirra, who flew around Earth on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions in the 1960s.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    JamesCity,Virginia
    Posts
    77

    First Project

    Great job! You have made something to be proud of.
    Last edited by Bruce Branson; 08-23-2007 at 10:21 PM.

  5. #5
    Beautiful job. You will get great rest sleeping on something you made with your own effort.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Plano, TX
    Posts
    2,036
    Great job, the fact that you made it makes it even more valuable.
    The means by which an end is reached must exemplify the value of the end itself.

  7. #7
    Beautiful work. Very impressive for a first project -- especially since you were learning hand tool work as you went.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    324
    Bob,

    Congratulations on an outstanding project. I have never done a project primarily by hand, it is on the list of things to do.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    That's a beauty, Bob...wonderful job!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    N Illinois
    Posts
    4,602
    Excellent work, Bob!! You should be proud!!!
    Jerry

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    1,429
    Bob,
    I'll be the echo...this is oustanding. Even more so since it's a first project...and wby hand, no less. I've done a small wall cabinet completely by hand, but not sure I'm up to something like that. What's on tap next? Nightstands or a dresser?

    Mark

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    91

    Unbelievable Job

    You should be proud!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Monroe, MI
    Posts
    11,896
    Very nice. I like the fact that it is a simple piece which lets the wood show off.

  14. #14
    Thanks again,
    I can't take credit for the plan. I got it from Woodsmith magazine. Their plans are pretty well laid out. I think my nixt project will be a dining room table. Hopefully it will not take a year like this bed did!

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
    Posts
    207
    Very nice, I like the fact that the lines of the piece allow the beauty of the wood to shine through. The fact that you used handplanes is particularly impressive to me - an art I haven't begun to attempt.

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